For the record, before Westco, the first Mazda distributor in NSW was Bill Mahler from Relham Traders in Sydney. My information shows he imported only 7 R360s and a small number of Carol (360 and 600) sedans during 1963. By 1964 he was replaced with Westco.

1963 is also important as it was the year that Mazda signed the agreement wih NSU to produce the Wankel Rotary engine under license, and first showed the Cosmo 110S prototype and Luce 1500 at the Tokyo Motor Show.

And Westco imported their first batch of 10 B1500 utilities and 12 Carol 600 sedans. The start of what would eventually become Mazda Australia.

Jon,I have sent you a few pics and a phone number by email.If you want to post the pics on here feel free to do so.My T600 is a 1960. Model KTBA 43. Number KTBA43-45448. Number EA-12258. Capacity 577cc.I was at a swap meet back in Feb and a had a pic of the T600 with info wanted etc.A trucky said a mate of his had a 3 wheel Mazda at his truck spares warehouse.So I chased them up and dropped in for a decko.It wasn't a T600 but T1500 he'd imported from Japan complete with a LPG conversion.On the back was little car took some pics but will have to dig for them.On the trip down from M'bah we stopped at a servo at Grafton and a trucky came over for a look at the T600. He said he had a mate with 2 of em in Coffs or Port? I was a bit slow and didn't chase a name,by the time I'd realised he was fair dinkum he had to move his truck.Good luck with your trip and when do you expect to be heading back to Brisbane?H.

Jon,I have sent you a few pics and a phone number by email.If you want to post the pics on here feel free to do so.My T600 is a 1960. Model KTBA 43. Number KTBA43-45448. Number EA-12258. Capacity 577cc.I was at a swap meet back in Feb and a had a pic of the T600 with info wanted etc.A trucky said a mate of his had a 3 wheel Mazda at his truck spares warehouse.So I chased them up and dropped in for a decko.It wasn't a T600 but T1500 he'd imported from Japan complete with a LPG conversion.On the back was little car took some pics but will have to dig for them.On the trip down from M'bah we stopped at a servo at Grafton and a trucky came over for a look at the T600. He said he had a mate with 2 of em in Coffs or Port? I was a bit slow and didn't chase a name,by the time I'd realised he was fair dinkum he had to move his truck.Good luck with your trip and when do you expect to be heading back to Brisbane?H.

Just saw your emails. Your model should be a TEA45 which if it is the first series T600 from 1959 to 1961 and the rarest. You can tell by the sliding windows, small rear wheel arch flares and open top roof yours is early, but the KTBA code is for the K360 model. Yours clearly has T600 on the doors, but maybe the wrong identification plate? Your rear tub looks like it might be a K360 one (shorter) so maybe just the doors are off another car. If it is a K360 delivered new in Australia it is a first. I am more interested now than before.

Anyway, we could be back through Sydney if we head that direction by Thursday next week. I will give you a call on the number supplied.

Here is a pic of your T600/K360 for the other forum members. I may have reduced it in size too much? If you click on the pic it will enlarge:

Why are all these early Mazdas in Victoria? Another 3750klm round trip in 6 days saw us arrive back in Brisbane Friday after leaving last Sunday. Thankfully all of my measuring before we left saw everything fit exactly how I hoped it would, with two T600 chassis, a T600 rear tub, one Carol 600 sedan, 2 x diffs, 3 x engines, numerous rims and tyres all fitting on the back of the truck. One R360 each on the two car trailers, with a large box full of trim pieces on the larger trailer.

Many thanks to my partners in crime; Tim Holland, Paul Davies and Nathan Farr. Without their help I would not have been able to achieve this anywhere near as smoothly as it all turned out. Apart from a scare just 300klm out of Brisbane when a dead Skippy (two together, missed one but got the second) damaged the trailer spring we had a trouble free run.

I don't want to think about the total cost of all this, but the important thing is that now that I have had a chance to check all of the NOS Mazda parts I have all of the missing pieces to finish the restoration on the first T600 at the start of this thread.

There were some NOS Datsun parts along with a Fiat 400? engine we had to bring back as part of the deal. Once I sort it I will post details as I don't need any of those bits.

Anyway, here are a few pics of us loading the truck on Tuesday afternoon just before it rained.

Two T600 chassis were "wheelbarrowed" onto the truck.

Just fitted between the gates, tyres to rest the front of the Carol 600 on.

Tim Holland is in this picture adding the RFZ logo to the Carol. Des Wright is in the background.

The Carol 600 was pushed up onto the truck. No engine, not that heavy. Tim is asking "why do we do this?" at this point.

Paul Davies is in this pic. His lifting was a big help.

It all fits! Thankfully

T600 rear tub standing up on the right hand side. A pair of new Carol 600 doors are inside the T600.

Both R360s were destined to come back on the trailers. It is difficult to tell from the pictures (first one taken on my phone, sorry for the poor quality), but the space was very tight getting the truck and trailer both in and out of the property. The terrain was very steep and the driveway very narrow, not designed for truck access let alone one towing a car trailer. To turn around I had to unhitch the trailer first to give you the idea.

Anyway, the only vehicle to need the winch to be removed was the restorable R360. With a little persuasion the locked brakes gave way and it did roll onto the trailer. Each R360 still has the engine in place. The second black R360 wasn't loaded until Wednesday morning due to a late rain shower, but it required the use of a Fergie tractor to drag it out of the tight space it was in. Thankfully it rolled but the body is basically broken in half with very little floor or B pillar left as the photos show. We thought it would break pushing it onto the trailer. On the way back to Brisbane, the passenger seat fell through what was left of the floor and sat on the trailer!

This R360 was stored inside a shed at the top of the hill.

This photo shows just how steep the property was.

Poor little R360 has certainly seen better days.The Fergie tractor is in the background.

This R360 was housed in the small opening to the right of the trailer.

Once this was all loaded I had to get the truck back out again. After the previous nights rain it only made it as far the corner where the black R360 came from and then stopped on the wet grass. The Fergie tractor was used again to pull the truck back onto the driveway. With a rock wall on one side and trees the other the truck only just made it around the side of the house each time having to use the grass to swing wide around the rock wall. Fine when the grass is dry!

Top work Jon recovering some absolute gems. I look forward to seeing the t600 finished and a build thread on the carol which looks in very good shape for a resto.

Not sure what to do with the Carol? I already have the identical car restored plus plenty of parts. May sell it if anyone shows any interest? It is in brilliant shape body wise, just some dents and very little rust. I should have all the missing bits?

I like the gray colour on the 360, someone in Melbourne gave one a make over for Mazda Australia I believe however it was white. They are a tiny car when you see them in person. There couldn't be many of those sitting around Australia these days.

Seems like Victoria was Australia's 360 capital until you towed this lot away. I know a wrecking yard in NSW that had a couple but they are long gone now, makes me wonder how many were imported. As a Rx3 owner I will never complain about difficulty in obtaining parts again.

The gray (360) car seems to have larger diameter rims that the other or is that an illusion ?

I like the gray colour on the 360, someone in Melbourne gave one a make over for Mazda Australia I believe however it was white. They are a tiny car when you see them in person. There couldn't be many of those sitting around Australia these days.

Seems like Victoria was Australia's 360 capital until you towed this lot away. I know a wrecking yard in NSW that had a couple but they are long gone now, makes me wonder how many were imported. As a Rx3 owner I will never complain about difficulty in obtaining parts again.

The gray (360) car seems to have larger diameter rims that the other or is that an illusion ?

The Mazda Australia R360 originally came from Sydney where it was in the now closed Harris Street Motor Museum along with three other Mazdas; an R100, a Carol 600 and an 800 Deluxe. All 4 were sold to a collector who only wanted the R100, then it went to Perth along with the Carol and 800 Deluxe sedan. I then bought the Carol and 800 in 2002 after that owner only wanted the R360 and they came back to Brisbane. Long story short, the R360 was later sold to Mazda Australia. BTW, a Carol is actually shorter than an R360 as the Carol 600 only reaches 3000mm long with the bumper over-riders. A JDM spec Carol is shorter.

Victoria is very special for Mazda Japan as way back in 1967, Mazda Motor Sales Pty Ltd was formed which was then the ONLY Mazda owned distribution company based outside of Japan. Eventually Westco controlled all other states before Mazda Japan took back control in 1986.

Anyway, enough of the history lesson. The wheels look bigger due to the whitewall tyres plus the other R360 has red rims.

Carol 1 and the Melbourne car are both 1963 models as they do not have extractors on the engine. The highest body number Carol 2 has a date stamp of 6/1964 on the plate so that shows the age of the newest one. Carol 2 and 4 both came out of NSW but were still Westco cars which would explain there only being 7 cars between them. Carol 1 and 3 are Westco QLD cars.

Since the Carol 600 was never sold in Victoria I have to assume the Melbourne one also came out of NSW or even QLD. I hope that isn't too confusing?

Carol 1 and the Melbourne car are both 1963 models as they do not have extractors on the engine. The highest body number Carol 2 has a date stamp of 6/1964 on the plate so that shows the age of the newest one. Carol 2 and 4 both came out of NSW but were still Westco cars which would explain there only being 7 cars between them. Carol 1 and 3 are Westco QLD cars.

Since the Carol 600 was never sold in Victoria I have to assume the Melbourne one also came out of NSW or even QLD. I hope that isn't too confusing?

Its amazing you have found the information and can track the life of each one this well. Your stories have really opened my eyes to the early 60's cars and mazdas. Thanks for the history lesson behind your cars.

Bought this on ebay a month or so back. It is the correct one for my 1960 model TEA-45 and it is in English.

Believe it or not, it came out of the USA which never saw this model Mazda at all. How the hell did it get there? It never ceases to amaze me where I find things.

Yes, it was VERY expensive at USD$150 plus postage but I had to have it as I am sure you all understand. Where else am I likley to find another one? In English? For a Mazda model only made for 2 and a half years over 50 years ago?